Under all the sweetness and light from the arrival of the National Zoo’s new panda cub, there’s a bit of darkness: The identity of Butterstick II’s father is still unknown.
Panda mama Mei Xiang was inseminated with samples from both the National Zoo’s Tian Tian and the San Diego Zoo’s Gao Gao. Now FONZ, or Friends of the National Zoo, is getting in on the action with a Maury-style tabloid cover they posted to Facebook.
While FONZ joking says “Stay tuned for breaking news,” it will still be “at least several weeks” before we know which panda is the cub’s father.
“Paternity will be determined using a DNA sample, which will most likely be obtained during the first full veterinary exam,” a National Zoo spokesperson said.